Sinakin Falls to King by Majority Decision

Light heavyweight Benny Sinakin suffered his first professional defeat at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania tonight. Matched up against Afunwa King, who is quietly making a name for himself as an upset specialist, the Jewish Bulldog lost by majority decision.

Sinakin seemed uncomfortable from the outset. His balance was all over the place, and he even succumbed to clinching in the opening round, which is never a good sign. King controlled center ring and found a home for his overhand rights. Benny was willing to enter firefights in the second round, but he slapped with his punches and dropped that round, too.

The third and fourth rounds were close. Sinakin appeared a bit gassed in the third. By that point, the fight had become a battle between King's overhand rights and Sinakin's left hooks.

The Bulldog wasn't himself the entire fight, but he showed flashes in the fifth. Perhaps Benny was reminded in the corner that the jab is a legal punch, because he began the penultimate round using it effectively. Had he utilized the jab from the beginning, the result likely would have been different. Sinakin's jab served to remind King that he too was allowed to jab. Sinakin, however, got the better of the dueling sticks.

In that round, Sinakin also seemed to finally get his bearings defensively. He expertly slipped King's shots. Benny still couldn't find his timing on his power shots from the outside, but it was the only round he won clearly.

In the final three minutes, both fighters smelled victory and let their hands go. But both guys showed improved defense. Sinakin landed some check hooks as King marched forward sans jab. King managed to connect with another overhand right, but he couldn't find the target as easily as in the first few rounds. King's head was his best weapon down the stretch.

One judge saw the fight even at 57 apiece. The other two judges overruled the first card and granted King the victory. Both scored the contest 58-56.

This was Sinakin's first six rounder. The 23 year old from Philly is now 6-1 with 3 KOs. King, a Nigerian-born resident of the Bronx, rises to 3-1 with one KO.